This invention relates broadly to agricultural implements such as hoppers and the like. More particularly, the present invention comprises a low profile auger and hopper assembly for use in receiving and distributing agricultural products such as feeds, roughage, grains or the like.
Hoppers are generally used to receive rough particulate material which is to be distributed through augers or other conveying machinery to a predetermined location. Most hoppers are comprised of a plurality of sidewalls and a lower, rigid oblique internal surface which cooperate to provide a feed or product receptive enclosure. An auger or other conventional conveying apparatus may be associated with the hopper to convey the contents thereof to a desired position. For example, augers may be conventionally used to convey grain or corn to an upper storage bin. Alternatively, such conveying apparatus can be utilized to load a hopper during the discharge operation.
The hopper essentially comprises a box which will be filled by machinery such as a dump truck. Because of the construction of prior art hoppers, it is difficult for a dump truck, for example, to back up to a conventional hopper and raise its bed to discharge its load into the hopper without interference with the hopper. Difficulties arise because prior art hoppers are vertically offset from the ground somewhat severely. Usually the vertical dimension of the conventional hopper is necessary to accommodate the auger associated therewithin because the flighting portion of the auger might otherwise contact the rigid surfaces associated with the hopper resulting in mechanical damages and difficulty. To prevent contact with the auger flighting, and to prevent formation of a "void" spot from which product will not be conveyed, the lower surface of conventional hoppers is oriented substantially parallel to the axis of the auger, obliquely with respect to the ground (or other supporting surface). As a result, conventional auger/hopper assemblies concentrate their weight at a single point or area, and structural damage to the hopper may consequently occur.